U.S. employers added a disappointing 29,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked up last month, the government reported Friday, a month before voters go to the polls in pivotal midterm elections at a time of discontent over the high cost of living and the state of the economy.
asserted
voters → add → economy
Hiring dropped from a revised 133,000 in August, the Labor Department said.
asserted
Department → drop → August
The unemployment rate rose to a still-low 4.2 per cent from 4.1 per cent in August.
asserted
rate → rise → August
Economists had expected September payrolls to come in around 90,000.
asserted
payrolls → expect → 90,000
Labor Department revisions also shaved 60,000 jobs off combined July and August payrolls.
asserted
revisions → shave → payrolls
The new hiring data could draw the Federal Reserve’s attention back to hiring and jobs, given that one of the central bank’s two mandates is to seek maximum employment.
uncertain
one → draw → employment
Many Fed officials have said in recent weeks that they are primarily focused on their other mission, which is combating inflation.
asserted
which → say → inflation
With the job market looking a bit weaker, the Fed may be more inclined to keep its key rate unchanged when it meets next month, rather than raise it.
uncertain
it → look → it
Average hourly wages were up just three per cent last month from a year earlier, the smallest year-over-year gain since May 2021.
“In this data, there is no sign that the labor market is stoking inflation,” said Luke Tilley, chief economist at Wilmington Trust.
uncertain
Tilley → be → Trust
Still, the unemployment rate remains low and inflation has been above the central bank’s two per cent target for more than five years, so the Fed’s concern about elevated prices is still front and center.
asserted
concern → remain → prices
Federal, state and local governments cut 17,000 jobs last month.
asserted
governments → cut → jobs
Professional and business services companies, which provide administrative and technical expertise, trimmed 9,000 jobs.
asserted
which → provide → jobs
Healthcare companies created 17,000 jobs in September, but that was barely half the 33,000 they’ve added, on average, each month for the past year.
asserted
they → create → year
Bradley Saunders, an economist at Capital Economics, wrote that the slowdown in healthcare hiring might reflect the Trump administration’s revocation of work authorizations for 350,000 Haitians.
uncertain
slowdown → write → Haitians
Get breaking National news
Construction companies added 11,000 jobs and manufacturers 9,000.
asserted
manufacturers → get → jobs
Unemployment rose partly because 485,000 people entered the workforce and not all of them found jobs right away.
asserted
all → rise → jobs
The U.S. job market has proven resilient in the face of a series of shocks — trade wars, persistent inflation, high interest rates and a conflict with Iran that has driven energy prices higher.
asserted
that → prove → prices
Friday’s jobs report is the last one that will come out before the Nov. 3 elections that will determine whether U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republicans maintain full control of Congress.
asserted
Republicans → come → Congress
Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite added to their gains after the data was released on growing hopes that the Fed will hold off on a rate hike.
asserted
Fed → add → hike
Treasury yields moved lower.
asserted
yields → move → ?
Yet what makes Wall Street happy differs starkly with what brings joy on Main Street.
asserted
what → make → Street
The U.S. job market has recovered from a dismal 2025,
asserted
market → recover → 2025
A Thursday poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that only 17 per cent of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s handling of the cost of living.
asserted
cent → find → living
Just 26 per cent approve of his handling of the economy overall, marking a new low.
asserted
cent → approve → low
U.S. consumer confidence dropped this month to the lowest level in more than a decade, according to an index published by the Conference Board.
uncertain
confidence → drop → Board
One reason: More than 28 per cent of respondents told the business think tank that they expect fewer jobs to be available in six months, double the 14 per cent who expect more.
asserted
who → tell → more
The online jobs site Glassdoor reports that its employee confidence index, based on how workers view prospects for their own companies, dropped last month to the lowest level in records going back to the beginning of 2016, a period that includes a global pandemic.
asserted
that → report → pandemic
“Employee confidence has been continuously grinding downward over the last year as workers grow increasingly anxious about everything from layoffs to AI,’’ said Glassdoor chief economist Daniel Zhao.
asserted
Zhao → grind → AI
The public’s misgivings about jobs partly reflect an odd feature of the current labor market: Employers aren’t laying off many workers, but they aren’t hiring many either.
asserted
they → reflect → many
A Labor Department measure of gross hiring – before subtracting those who quit or lose their jobs – has been stuck in a rut for more than two years.
asserted
who → subtract → years
So economists describe a “ low-hire, low-fire ’’ job market in which those who have jobs are mostly secure, but jobseekers struggle to find work.
asserted
jobseekers → describe → work
“People know that being laid off is unusually costly right now,” said Glassdoor’s Zhao.
asserted
Zhao → know → ?
“They hear from their friends how long they’ve been out of work and had such a difficult time finding a job.
asserted
they → hear → job
That does make layoffs even more scary than usual.’’
In that chilly environment, fewer workers are willing to quit their jobs.
asserted
workers → make → jobs
They often feel stuck,’’ Zhao said.
asserted
Zhao → feel → ?
“Workers aren’t finding there’s opportunity on the open market to find a better job – one that pays more or offers better work-life balance.’’
asserted
that → find → balance
Employers – businesses, government agencies and nonprofits – have added an average 68,000 jobs a month so far this year.
asserted
Employers → add → jobs
That’s a big improvement on the 9,700 average new jobs created every month in 2025, the weakest hiring outside a recession since 2002.
asserted
That → ’ → 2002
Sky Castle Toys in Seattle is still hiring – even though higher transportation costs, driven by the rocketing price of diesel, has eaten into profit margins.
asserted
costs → hire → margins
Co-founder Joshua Loerzel said the company’s staff has more than doubled to 50 from last year.
asserted
staff → say → year
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
